<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>No by JCapasso</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24932227">No</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/JCapasso/pseuds/JCapasso'>JCapasso</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Vampire Diaries (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:33:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,654</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24932227</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/JCapasso/pseuds/JCapasso</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>One simple word can change so much. When Damon asks Elena for the truth about whether he can trust Stefan to help get Katherine back, she finds herself unable to lie to him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Elena Gilbert/Damon Salvatore</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>68</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Damon stood over the stove, letting the carefree joviality fade from his demeanor as he made a decision. “Is it real?” he asked as he tasted the sauce. </p><p>“Is what real?” Elena asked tiredly. </p><p>“This renewed sense of…brotherhood,” Damon said as he turned to look seriously at her. “Can I trust him?” </p><p>“Yes you can trust him,” Elena said flippantly, hating herself for the lie and wishing they had never put her in the middle of their whole brotherly drama. </p><p>Damon looked suspiciously at her back for a moment, almost hearing her nerves in that statement. He blurred over to her by the time she turned around and looked deeply into her eyes, searching for the truth. “Can I trust him?”</p><p>Elena sighed. “I’m wearing vervain, Damon. It’s not going to work.”</p><p>“I’m not compelling you,” he said affronted. “I just want you to answer me…honestly.”</p><p>Elena felt her breath hitch at his proximity and he wouldn’t let her gaze go. She could see the desperation in his eyes as he all but begged her for the truth, and god help her, she couldn’t lie to him. “No.” </p><p>“No?” Damon asked, hurt creeping into his eyes. </p><p>“No, you can’t trust him,” she clarified and he finally let her look away, shame creeping onto her face. Both for lying to him to begin with and for betraying Stefan now. </p><p>Damon took a deep steady breath. “Thank you for being honest.” She gave him a shaky smile and headed over to the counter to put some distance between them. “I just want her back. I’m sure you can understand that.” </p><p>“I can understand that you would do anything for her, yes,” Elena admitted, trying not to show how jealous she was at that. To be loved so completely, even after so long. She wondered if she and Stefan would ever reach that point. </p><p>Damon stuck close to her, wanting to make his point clear here. “Then you understand what I will do if anyone gets in my way.” It was the only warning she was going to get. If she didn’t keep Stefan out of his way, then he wasn’t responsible for the consequences. He was going to keep playing Stefan’s game for now though. As a reward for her honestly, he wasn’t going to throw her under the bus. Besides, by keeping Stefan close he could keep an eye on him and have a better idea what he was up to. </p><p>Now that was settled, Damon let himself relax and play some video games with Jeremy while they waited for Stefan, who showed up later just to tell them that he lost the journal. Damon was more than skeptical and didn’t expect much to come from the whole Jeremy and Anna lead, but then he recognized Anna immediately. She could definitely add a new dimension to the game so when she approached him about helping her get her mother out, he gladly made an agreement with her. She would be his insurance policy. </p><p>Elena found herself torn when they learned the location of the grimoire and Stefan insisted on destroying it immediately before Damon could get to it. She believed Damon that he was only going to get Katherine out, but Stefan wouldn’t hear of it. Always suspecting some ulterior motive. He talked like Damon was this terrible monster, but she just couldn’t see it. She’d taken Stefan’s word for it before. He knew Damon far better than she did after all, but she had seen something in Damon’s eyes last night. There was definitely no monster there. She didn’t doubt that he /could/ be. If he or someone he loved was threatened. Just like they were doing now. But there was more to him than that too. That was why she sent him a text message while Stefan was driving and not paying attention. ‘Book in your dad’s coffin. S&amp;I going now. Hurry.’</p><p>She wasn’t sure if Damon hadn’t gotten the message or if he was hiding nearby letting them do all the work, but he didn’t come out until the coffin was cracked and the book verified. It made sense though. He wouldn’t want to give up the ghost until he was sure that she wasn’t playing him too. She definitely understood his trust issues now. </p><p>“Well what do you know,” Damon smirked as he came out of the trees. “This is an interesting turn of events.” </p><p>Elena could see the hurt in Damon’s face as his fears were realized, and Stefan just compounded it when he said, “I can’t let you bring her back. I’m sorry.”</p><p>“So am I. For thinking for even a second that I could trust you,” Damon said hurt. </p><p>Stefan scoffed. “You are not capable of trust.” Elena thought that wasn’t fair. Damon had wanted to trust. He’d tried. He’d trusted her. He’d given her a chance to come clean. He’d followed her here tonight. He was obviously capable of trust when it was earned. “The fact that you’re here means that you read the journal and you were planning on doing this yourself,” Stefan accused. Elena felt the familiar stirrings of guilt. No, he was here because she led him here. Because she spilled the plan. She wondered if he was going to out her or let Stefan continue thinking the worst of him. </p><p>“Of course I was going to do it by myself,” Damon snapped, answering Elena’s question. “Because the only one I can count on is me. You made sure of that many years ago, Stefan.” Elena started to think that she was missing a big part of the story between them and she suspected that what she was missing would turn her world upside down and change everything. When Damon looked straight at her, she caught something in his eyes that she couldn’t place. Not until he spoke again at least. “But you…you had me fooled,” he told her and she got it. She looked down to keep herself from smiling at him. He was covering for her. “So what are you going to do now?” Damon asked Stefan. “Because if you try and destroy that, I’ll rip her heart out.”</p><p>“You won’t kill her,” Stefan argued and Elena knew that he was right. She had no idea what Damon was going to do from here, but she knew that he wouldn’t kill her. She’d seen how much her honesty had meant to him. She was just being used as a bargaining chip with Stefan. She hated it, but she got it. </p><p>That didn’t stop Elena from panicking when he was suddenly behind her with his arm around her throat. “I can do one better,” Damon said and the next thing Elena knew, his bloody wrist was held against her mouth and she had no choice but to swallow. So help her if this was Damon’s solution to the dilemma she was going to kill him. She didn’t take a chance on him just to be turned into a vampire to get back at Stefan. “Give me the book Stefan, or I’m snapping her neck and you and I will have a vampire girlfriend.” </p><p>“Let her go first,” Stefan said desperately.</p><p>“The book,” Damon ordered. </p><p>“I am not going to give this to you until she is standing next to me,” Stefan said evenly. </p><p>“The problem is, I no longer trust that you’ll give it back,” Damon pointed out. Elena couldn’t blame him there if she was being honest, but she was still a little too freaked out to be that honest yet. </p><p>“You just did the one thing that ensures that I will,” Stefan told him honestly. </p><p>Once Stefan put the book down, Elena felt Damon’s face in her hair for a moment before he let her go. She also felt his hand slip into her pocket with the motion too and resolved to check it when she got a minute. If he’d wanted Stefan to know, he wouldn’t have been so sneaky about it. She hated feeling like a pawn and when this was over she was going to tell them both off. As Stefan led Elena away, Damon felt bad about what he was doing to her, but it was the best way. </p><p>Once Stefan got Elena home, he gave her a little bit of the story. About how Katherine was caught. How he had let slip to her father. How Damon had trusted him and he betrayed that trust and got Katherine caught. She remembered writing a paper once for her AP English class about the difference between a hero and a villain. She remembered her point that the hero does what he does for love. She reminded herself that real life doesn’t have heroes and villains though. That it’s just people. She knew that she would never be able to see Damon as a villain again though. Not now. Even after what he did tonight. It was all giving her a headache. </p><p>She sent Stefan to find her some asprin and took the opportunity to reach into her pocket to see what Damon put there and pulled out a note. ‘I’m sorry. You’ll be completely safe. I promise. -DS’ she read. What did he mean? That he wouldn’t come after her? That her blood would pass through her system? Before she could puzzle over it too long a hand clamped over her mouth and her world went dark.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elena found herself locked up with Bonnie and held by who she learned was Anna. Jeremy’s almost girlfriend. She remembered Damon’s note and wondered if he’d planned this. He’d promised that she would be safe. She would imagine that the words I’m sorry were even less a part of Damon’s usual vocabulary than I promise was, and she struggled with the idea of trusting him. When she heard Anna’s story, that her mother had been trapped in the tomb and that was all she wanted, she decided to relax and trust Damon. </p><p>She and Bonnie managed to talk secretly and make a plan. She talked Bonnie into helping find a way to get Katherine and Anna’s mother out, but no one else. No matter what else Damon might have planned, that was as far as either of them were willing to go. When Stefan got there to get her out, they had the plan ready. All they had to do was sell it to Damon and Elena argued herself into that role without revealing the newfound trust and understanding between them. </p><p>Stefan went to get Bonnie’s grandmother while Anna kept Bonnie under wraps just in case and Elena headed for the boarding house. When she came in, Damon made a joke about changing the locks and making a jailbreak before Elena asked him, “Why?” </p><p>“Why what?” Damon asked, playing dumb. </p><p>“The kidnapping. It was your idea wasn’t it?” she accused. </p><p>“Yep,” Damon freely admitted. </p><p>“Why? Why would you do that to me?” she asked hurt. </p><p>“Does it matter?” he asked with a harsh laugh. </p><p>Elena stepped up close to him. “It matters to me, Damon. I though we had something between us. An understanding. I need to know the truth.” </p><p>Damon sighed, realizing he couldn’t deny her that. Not after she had given him the same, and even gone above and beyond what he’d asked. “A few reasons. First of all, I needed you kept safe until my blood passed through your system. I would never have fed it to you if I didn’t have a plan to do that. Second, I knew Anna had Bonnie and wasn’t going to give her up. I also know how stubborn Bonnie is. I hoped you would be able to talk her around. I had leverage to keep you safe, not as much for her.” </p><p>Elena reached out and took his hand. “Thank you, Damon. For your honesty and trying to protect me, even if you did go about it in a shitty way,” she chuckled and he couldn’t help but laugh. “And I did talk Bonnie into helping.” </p><p>Damon faltered at that. He hadn’t expected it to be so easy. His plans never worked that well. “How do I know that this isn’t a trick to pay me back for the kidnapping stuff?” </p><p>“You trusted me before, Damon. Just like I trusted you. You can trust me again now,” she assured him. She could see the indecision in his eyes, and could understand it. He was so used to not being able to trust anyone and in a different situation, she would have been trying to pay him back for the kidnapping. She knew what she had to do. She reached up and took her necklace off, placing it on the table. “Ask me now.” Damon took a deep breath before reaching for her necklace and moving to put it back around her neck, prompting her to ask, “Why didn’t you compel me in Atlanta?” This was the second time he’d had every opportunity to compel her and make his life easier and the second time he had declined. </p><p>“Because we were having fun. And I wanted it to be real,” he admitted as he smoothed her hair back down. “I’m trusting you,” he almost whispered. “Don’t make me regret it.”</p><p>“I won’t,” she promised as she looked him in the eye, giving him a reassuring smile at the fear and desperation she could see there. She got what he didn’t say. That he wanted the trust between them to be just as real. Because it wouldn’t mean as much if it wasn’t. He nodded and followed her to the tomb. When he wanted to take her in with him, she knew that it wasn’t because he didn’t trust her. It was because he didn’t trust the others and that was made perfectly clear when she agreed and he just walked inside, fully believing that she would follow him without enticement. </p><p>When Stefan came after her and got her out and she learned that he couldn’t get out and neither could Damon or Katherine, she told him, “We can’t leave him in there. We promised him. Both of us.” </p><p>“I know,” Stefan said wearily. At least if the promise was broken, he would pay for breaking it. Elena pushed past him again to go back in. “What are you doing?” he asked. </p><p>“I promised him, Stefan. I told him he could trust me. I am not leaving this tomb without him. Without both of you,” she said firmly before turning back to Bonnie and her grandmother. “You hear that? Get this spell down or leave me here too.” She felt more than a little betrayed herself. It was just like eighteen sixty four all over again. She had put her faith in the Bennett witches just like Stefan had put his faith in his father and both times Damon got the short end of the stick. “Come on. Let’s go find him and Katherine so we can all get out of here when this seal goes down.” </p><p>Stefan had no intention of letting her stay in here, but for now, especially if it kept Damon calm and gave the witches extra motivation, he would allow it. If it came to it though, if they couldn’t get it down, he would force her out. “Okay. Stay close. Anna and her mother are still in here remember.” </p><p>Elena nodded and followed closely as they headed to the very back, finding Damon flipping out about Katherine not being there. When the walls started shaking, she assumed the spell was coming down and begged him to come with them. If she wasn’t here, then there was no point in waiting. They could figure all this out on the other side. Damon didn’t respond, but when she grabbed his hand, he let her pull him back towards the exit, which worried her more than anything. Damon was /not/ this meek. Ever. Once they got outside and she made sure Jeremy was okay, she went over and gave him a hug, but he didn’t respond. Not a word, no move to return it, and she could feel him trembling. She wished there was something that she could do or say to make it okay, but there wasn’t. </p><p>She had been planning to take him to task…to take them both to task…about putting her in the middle of their messes, but she didn’t have the heart to say a word now. Not to him. She and Stefan would have that talk later, but she would wait to bring it up to Damon until he was feeling better. As Stefan drove her home other thoughts started creeping into her mind and once they were alone in her room, she had to ask Stefan, “Tell me you didn’t know what Sheila Bennett was planning.” </p><p>“I didn’t…know,” Stefan said hesitantly. </p><p>Elena narrowed her eyes, catching the hitch in his words. “But you suspected.” Stefan nodded and Elena fought not to lose her temper. Why wouldn’t he have gone in to help his brother find Katherine otherwise. That had been the big clue for her. He would have wanted to keep an eye on Damon. To make sure that he didn’t try and release anyone else. That had been why he was so against it to begin with. “I can’t do this anymore, Stefan.” </p><p>“Do what?” Stefan asked worriedly. </p><p>“I will NOT be put in the middle with you two. You want to screw your brother over, fine. But leave me out of it. Because I will not be keeping any of your secrets. And yes, I plan to have this conversation with him too once he’s stable enough to hear it.” </p><p>“Elena, you don’t understand what he’s like,” Stefan tried to reason with her. </p><p>“And I don’t care,” she snapped. “I do have a mind of my own, Stefan, and I can make it up myself. You’re not exactly unbiased when it comes to him any more than he’s unbiased when it comes to you and I’m done playing this game. I care about you both and I refuse to take sides anymore. And…” she took a deep breath before making her final decision. “And I can’t love someone who would stick his own brother in a tomb for eternity.”</p><p>“You were all for me locking him up before. When he was hurting Caroline,” Stefan pointed out. </p><p>“For a while, yes. We were talking about temporarily. Not permanently. And that was while he was actively hurting someone. All he was trying to do here is rescue someone he loved from a fate worse than death and you were going to subject him to that same fate. I just can’t…I still care about you, Stefan and I hope we can still be friends, but we can’t be together anymore. Not after this.” </p><p>Stefan sighed and nodded. “Okay. I understand,” he said sadly before he turned and left. It seemed like his brother was still ruining his life. He just couldn’t get a break.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elena spent the next few weeks until Christmas reordering her thoughts and separating things into what she knew, what was probably true, and what was pure opinion and she learned that almost everything bad about Damon was based solely on Stefan’s opinions. There was what he’d done to Caroline and what he’d done to Vicki, which put him solely in the bad category, but maybe there were more reasons than she knew. If she hadn’t asked for his reasons about the kidnapping, then she would have held that against him too. She knew some of the underlying factors with Vicki. Like the fact that he’d been starving and Stefan had stolen his daylight ring, but she didn’t know the whole story. </p><p>Then there were the good points. He’d tried to make amends for Vicki by compelling Jeremy. Looking back, she could see the remorse in his eyes that night. He’d saved her from the car accident. Atlanta really had been fun. He’d been open and honest and playful and she really liked that side of him. Then when she’d been taken, he went after her immediately without a thought to his own safety and was nearly killed for it. And he’d freely accepted the debt for her saving his life. There were a hundred arguments he could have made to brush it off, but he hadn’t. When the vampires had come after her at the dance, he’d been right there with Stefan protecting her. He’d been nice and she’d been snotty to him. </p><p>Then all the little things. When she asked him about Stefan he told her to ask Stefan. Said that Stefan’s answer would differ from his so he wasn’t going to answer. He wasn’t trying to turn her against Stefan like Stefan was with him. He’d helped out in the kitchen, more than once. He even helped make dinner for family night a few nights ago when Stefan didn’t show up until the very end. He played nice with her brother and with Jenna, while Stefan didn’t really pay them much attention at all. Most importantly though, Damon challenged her. He pushed her out of her comfort zone while Stefan just kept her there. No, Damon definitely wasn’t a villain. She wasn’t ready to say that Stefan was either though. </p><p>The day after Christmas, she headed to the boarding house to give Stefan and Damon their gifts, and hopefully have some time to talk to Damon. She was a little nervous about the presents, but wasn’t sure what to get either of them. Hopefully the thought would count. Stefan answered the door and looked curiously at her for a moment before he let her in. “We’re still friends right?” she half-asked at his curious look. </p><p>“Yeah. I guess we are,” Stefan said with a slight smile. “So what brings you here?” </p><p>“I brought you a Christmas present,” she told him handing it over and he smiled at the nice new journal. </p><p>“Thank you,” he told her. “It will definitely get some use. Wait here and I’ll go get your present.” Stefan had to scramble for something since he hadn’t gotten her anything, but it would have been rude if he didn’t give her a return gift, so he eventually returned with a snow globe of Mystic Falls. He’d bought a few of them when he found them just in case. </p><p>“Thank you, Stefan. It’s really pretty,” she told him. “Is Damon here? I got something for him too.”</p><p>“I don’t know if you want to do that,” Stefan said with a wince. </p><p>“Yes. I do,” Elena said firmly. </p><p>Stefan sighed and shrugged, pointing her up to his room. “Fair warning though. He’s not in the best shape, but I can be there in a second if he hurts you…”</p><p>“He won’t,” Elena said confidently. “But thank you, Stefan,” she had to add. She knocked on his door and waited for a minute before he opened it, stumbling backwards as he did and she could smell the reek of alcohol on him. </p><p>“Elena! So nice to see you,” he smirked and waved her in. </p><p>Elena stepped in and her breath was taken away by the beautiful room and she was more than a little surprised. Especially by the stacks of books laying around. She wouldn’t have figured Damon for a reader, but there was a lot she didn’t know about him. “I got you something for Christmas,” she finally said when she saw him looking at her expectantly. </p><p>“You did?” he asked confused. </p><p>“Of course, I did. You’re my friend,” she chuckled, almost amused by his bafflement, but also hurt by it. Not that she took it personally, but more because she didn’t. He was so surprised that anyone would get him anything. “Here you go,” she handed it over. </p><p>“I didn’t get you anything,” he admitted. “I didn’t think…I mean…Christmas isn’t something that I’ve really celebrated since…”</p><p>“It’s okay,” Elena cut him off. “I understand. It’s not like we made an official plan to exchange gifts or anything. Just open it.” As he did, Elena babbled a bit. “It’s something I found when I was going through my parents’ old stuff a few weeks ago. I don’t know if it’s any good or even something you like, but it made me think of you…”</p><p>Damon pulled out the engraved wooden case that held a bottle of Saki. He wouldn’t be caught dead drinking the stuff, even in his current state, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t value it. “You thought of me…” he breathed out, still confused as he looked up at her. </p><p>“Well…yeah,” Elena said a little uncomfortable with the heat of his gaze and completely caught off guard when he leaned over and kissed her. She kissed him back for a moment before she pulled away. “Damon, don’t,” she winced. </p><p>“Why not?” he asked breathlessly. He knew that she had dumped Stefan. She was free. If she didn’t want him then okay, but he just wanted to know why. </p><p>“Because I’m not just going to be a replacement for Katherine,” she said gently. </p><p>“No,” Damon shook his head. “That is the furthest thing from this. Just…no.” </p><p>“Then let me ask you the same question…why? Honestly?” </p><p>Damon sighed and leaned back against his headboard, setting the box she’d given him almost reverently on his nightstand, partially to avoid looking at her. “You fought for me,” he told her. </p><p>“What do you…”</p><p>“In Atlanta. You knew that you were no match for him, but you fought for me. I…mattered to you. You thought I was worth saving for some reason I still can’t figure out. You trust me and…and I can trust you. No one’s ever…even before. And then…you gave me a hug. You cared. It’s…you’re /nothing/ like Katherine.” </p><p>Elena felt the tears springing to her eyes, but she needed more information before she could let this happen. She did reach out and take his hand though. “I’m sorry she wasn’t there,” Elena told him, hoping that would get him talking and help her figure out how he gave up on her so easily and quickly. </p><p>“She did it on purpose, you know,” Damon told her, reaching for his bottle of bourbon. </p><p>“Did what?” Elena asked confused. </p><p>“She never planned on being in the tomb. She had her escape planned for days. At least. And she still told Emily to tell me about it. To keep me chasing her for a hundred and forty five years. To keep me chasing a ghost.”</p><p>“Maybe she didn’t mean…” </p><p>“Oh she did,” Damon said taking a long swig directly from the bottle. “She’s been free and living it up this whole time. She knew exactly where I was and what I was doing. Apparently we almost crossed paths a few times, even. She didn’t care. Had a good laugh at my expense.”</p><p>“I’m sorry, Damon,” Elena said gently. </p><p>“Whatever. It’s in the past. Just took me a while to realize it was over is all,” he said with a shrug. “I’m over it.”</p><p>“If you were over it, you wouldn’t have half a dozen empty bottles strewn around your room,” she pointed out sympathetically. </p><p>“This?” he scoffed. “Please. This is as much about you as it is her.” </p><p>“Me?” Elena asked curiously. </p><p>“How do you do it, Elena?” he asked her almost desperately. </p><p>“How do I do what?” </p><p>“Care,” he said. “Make /me/ care. Give me something to care about after so long…it’s not supposed to be like this,” he shook his head as if trying to clear it, setting the bottle down. “It’s not…” he was cut off by her lips on his and he kissed her back desperately. “Elena…” he breathed out as they separated, reaching out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “What…”</p><p>“I don’t know what we’re doing here, yet, Damon, and I need a little time to figure that out, but…I /do/ care about you.” </p><p>Damon’s lips twitched into an almost smile. “Me too.” </p><p>“I want to get to know you better,” she told him. </p><p>Damon winced. “No. You really don’t.” </p><p>Elena knew that arguing the fact wouldn’t be likely to get her anywhere, especially as drunk as he was he probably wouldn’t be able to understand a coherent argument anyway, so she decided on a different tactic. “Okay, how about a deal. For every open honest answer you give me to a question, you get a kiss.”</p><p>Damon laughed and shook his head amusedly. He liked that deal, but he wouldn’t be him if he didn’t try and push the matter. “If it comes with cuddles too, you have a deal,” he said holding out his arm hopefully. </p><p>Elena grinned and nodded. She could definitely live with that. She had never really considered Damon much of a snuggler either. She was already getting to know him a little better. She moved over to his side and settled against him as his arm wrapped around her and he buried his face in her hair, taking a deep breath. She decided to start off with an easy question. “How many of those books have you read?” she gestured to the stacks around the room. </p><p>“All of them more than once. I only keep my favorites in here. The rest are in the library,” he told her and Elena leaned up and kissed him gently. Yes, he could definitely live with this deal. </p><p>Elena was surprised at that answer, but she would probably be surprised at most of his answers. She was realizing that the Damon he let people see and the real Damon were very different people. She’d gotten a taste of that in Atlanta, but it was even more obvious now. “What did you mean when you told Stefan that he made sure that you couldn’t count on anyone but yourself?” </p><p>Damon sighed and tensed at that question, but at least he knew that Elena and Stefan were already broken up so he didn’t have to feel guilty about answering. “Well first he ended up getting Katherine caught…”</p><p>“He told me that story. That he said too much to your dad who dosed him with vervain to catch her,” Elena gave him the overview so that he could correct anything. </p><p>“Yeah,” Damon sighed, glad that he wouldn’t have to go into that. “Then he came up with this crazy plan to free her, which I went along with out of pure desperation. He never even gave me a chance to come up with a better way. His plan got us both killed and since we had recently drank some of Katherine’s blood…”</p><p>“You came back as vampires,” Elena nodded. </p><p>“Not exactly,” Damon told her. “When we woke up in transition, we made a pact to let ourselves die rather than become vampires. But then he took off. Killed our father and fed on him. He waited until I was almost dead…too weak to fight him, though I did try, before he came back and forced the blood of one of the girls in town down my throat as I begged him not to. He made me into this.”</p><p>“And that’s why you promised him an eternity of misery,” she realized. </p><p>“Mostly,” Damon admitted. “From the moment he had his first taste of blood he was a different person. He wasn’t my brother anymore. He forced me to turn because he didn’t want to be alone.”</p><p>“So you thought you’d show him that alone was better than forcing someone to be something they didn’t want to be,” she guessed and he nodded.</p><p>“I would have dropped it though. Even tried to reach out more than once. To find my brother again. But wherever we went, if I showed up, he made me out to be a monster, though to be fair, I kinda was.”</p><p>“But which was the cause and which was the effect?” Elena asked. “If you get called a monster often enough you start to act like one.”</p><p>Damon couldn’t help but laugh at that. “You know…you’re the first person to ever consider it that way. To be perfectly honest, I don’t even know anymore. It’s all so long ago and jumbled up in everything else…” he trailed off, trying to think. </p><p>“I get that,” she admitted. </p><p>“Getting back to your original question though, vampires can’t count on anyone. Usually. Humans who find out about us usually run the other way except on the rare occasions that they want to use us and if they don’t know what I am, then how can I ever count on them anyway? None of its real that way.”</p><p>Elena considered that for a long moment before conceding his point. Stefan had taken away his love and his father before turning him into something that could never get close to people and treating him like a monster whenever he tried. “You can count on me,” she promised him. </p><p>“I know,” he said, still mystified by that. Elena leaned up and gave him a long slow kiss for that, and didn’t break until they needed air. “You know, I think I could come to like this game,” he chuckled. </p><p>Elena grinned and leaned her head against his shoulder again. She definitely could too and they kept playing, even after he sobered up for the most part about an hour later, which prompted a question about alcohol consumption where she learned that vampires metabolize a lot faster than humans and how difficult it is to stay drunk as a vampire. Once he was more sober, there were a lot of questions coming her way too. By the time she left a few hours later, she was well on her way to falling in love with him.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>